Path to Hope: Merc's story
by Alkuna
Summary: This is a very old story about how my gelert was adopted. Be advised, there is mention of starvation and animal abuse...


This is a very, very old story from back in 2000 when I first adopted my second pet. Back then, the owner of the pound was a fat, grouchy human called Miss Worley instead of the Techo, Dr.Death. Back then pets in the pound weren't fed so you were very likely to find a pet who's status was "dying."  
  
If you would like to read the heavily edited (and not as in-depth) version of my story, you can still find it in Week 32 of the OLD Neopian Times (Look under Volume 1 in the short stories)  
  
*Evil glare* I have already caught one person plagiarizing this story, and sadly Neopets wasn't vigilant enough to prevent the copy to be published in the Neopian Times a while later. Extreme_speed plagiarized a section of this story in their own version called uMy Two Good Owners: A Lupe's Story/u in Week 9 of the New Neopian Times. I already sent them a scathing neomail, to which they replied with excuses and comments about a coincidence. Oh sure some of it was changed a little, but you can tell that parts of that story were taken from mine and rewritten to look as though she wrote it.  
  
Compare and consider. You WILL get caught. I am still watching for others to make this foolish mistake. Anyways, this is my unedited, reworked story. I hope you enjoy it.  
  
Path to Hope: Merc's Story.  
  
Hi there! My name is Mercolagos, and I'm a blue Gelert. My first owner picked me from my litter of brothers and sisters when I was very young, gave me my name, and took me home. I lived with my first owner for some time, and became increasingly aware that something was wrong.  
  
Oh it was subtle enough. Since I am a vegetarian, I happen to be hungry a lot. This caused some problems I guess, for my owner had to spend a lot of his Neopoints on food instead of other things.  
  
Still, I tried to make up for it by staying loyal to him. I was always at his side and tried to offer as much support as I could. I always greeted him eagerly when he came and threw my all into everything we did to prove to my owner that I was worthy of his care. But he began spending more and more time away from me, and at first I thought I had offended him or somehow made him hate me.  
  
I worked hard, desperately trying to prove to him that I didn't mean to offend him. Then, I realized that he wasn't trying very hard to train me. A little reading each day would have helped bring my stats up but it never happened. I didn't advance, and so I stayed strictly at average. What bad thing had I done? My heart felt sick inside me at the thought of having caused him harm, however inadvertently.  
  
Still, I didn't think he was truly unhappy until my world was jerked out from under me. My last owner took me to the Adoption Center. I looked around and shivered slightly, horrified by the thought of being in one of those cages. I assumed another pet would be adopted to join the two of us. I looked forward to having a companion to keep me company while my owner was away. Then money was passed between my last owner and the lady at the desk and before I knew what was happening, the door to my cage slammed shut in my face. He had paid the fee and he was abandoning me in there!  
  
"Noooo!" My howl echoed hollowly off the walls of my prison, "Wait! Master! Please tell me what I did wrong! At least you can tell me that!"  
  
But my owner didn't reply. Without a word, he just turned on his heel and left me. And he never looked back. He just left me to be adopted or starve to death.  
  
Yes, starve. Evening came and no one came by with food. I talked to the Neopet, a Scorchio, next to me and asked, "When will they come to feed us do you think?"  
  
She stared at me for a moment then laughed bitterly, "Do not delude yourself oh mighty Gelert. We are not fed here. We are either adopted and fed by our new owners or we die in our cages and our bodies are removed to make room for more abandoned pets."  
  
I could feel my jaw drop. "How.how can they?"  
  
"Nobody cares," she shrugged, "Welcome to the darker part of life. We were brought here because we weren't wanted; therefore we aren't worth the effort of feeding. Once you are here, it is a mere flip of the Neopoint as to whether you live or die. Let me put it this way, your odds aren't so good. There are more than a hundred of us here. Your chance is one in a hundred that you'll be adopted. Your odds are slightly better if a Gelert lover comes along, but you still have to stand above the other Gelerts sitting in other cages. If your stats aren't up to an adopter's expectations, you'll be passed by."  
  
I felt sick. My ears drooped and my tail sank to the floor of my dirty prison. All my abilities were solidly in the "average" range. I had received absolutely no training in the skills of fighting, defense or speed. To an owner looking for a pet that could protect the household or fight in the Battle Dome, I was a poor choice. And I didn't doubt that there were Gelerts that were better trained than I was. Indeed, I was pretty much just taking up space until I could be buried six feet under.  
  
As days passed, I began getting steadily weaker. People came and went, some adopting other pets. But no one adopted me for the longest time. After all, I was only at level one with nothing to make me stand out from any of the other, healthier pets.  
  
Dully, I watched as Neopet after Neopet was adopted or their weak bodies were dragged out to make room. My fur became filthy, my ribs began to show, and I lost the strength to move. I thought I was going to die there! ...I almost did. I was dying of hunger when someone stopped at my cage and opened the door. They must have been coming to take me out to add me to the pile of the dead, for I certainly felt close enough to death to qualify.  
  
I didn't bother to open my eyes, so when that someone picked me up gently it was almost a shock. The stranger smelled good; she smelled like a ray of hope.  
  
I glanced up and saw her completely for the first time. She had blonde hair and smoke blue eyes. Once my weight was balanced in her arms, she carried me to the front desk, where I was set down to be looked at.  
  
The stern lady looked me over and spoke, "This is your choice Miss Al'Kuna? Mercolagos isn't exactly top notch as a pet. Perhaps you want a better Neopet? One who is better than average perhaps?" Her voice held little emotion. No doubt she had seen many of us come and go.  
  
"Merc is my choice Ma'am," said the woman stiffly, "How much is he?"  
  
I was poked and prodded far more than I would normally put up with, but didn't have the strength to snap at the offending hands. Finally, with a sigh, the lady at the desk said, "Forty two Neopoints."  
  
"If he is not one of the best you have, then why is he one of the most expensive of your adoptees?" snapped Al'Kuna, "I saw a monster of a Skeith that was cheaper, and probably eats more than this Gelert can."  
  
"Look, I just follow orders. Forty-two Neopoints is the price the boss put on him. If you don't want to pay that much then just choose a cheaper animal," the lady at the desk sounded impatient.  
  
Animal. So we weren't even pets to be loved? What kind of lady got a job like this if we were just animals to her?  
  
I heard an irritated sigh and my long ears drooped even further. Surely I cost too much for Al'Kuna. She was going to me back in my cage now, where I would quietly die of starvation and humiliation.  
  
"Here, enjoy your ridiculous profit. I'm getting out of this insane asylum." Then I heard a soft metallic clinking. I opened my eyes to see a hand pull out a bag of Neopoints. The hand slapped the money down on the desk with a loud metallic sound and shoved the money roughly at the woman.  
  
Even though I was in such poor health, this Al'Kuna woman had adopted me! I thought it was a cruel joke but no one laughed. After all, if my first owner didn't want me, why would anyone?  
  
Al'Kuna did. I was scooped up again with surprising gentleness after that harsh display and was carried out of the Adoption Center. She took me home and generously began spending all of the Neopoints she had been saving for other purposes, to nurse me back to a full recovery.  
  
While I was recovering, I began to notice the scent of another pet. Even as my nose identified the scent, the owner padded into the room. It was a blue Lupe!  
  
My being a vegetarian might make me look like dinner to this powerful hunter. My heart thudded in my chest fearfully and I tried to get to my shaky paws to flee but collapsed before I had raised myself more than an inch.  
  
Human hands pressed down on my back, pinning me to the soft surface I lay on. "Easy boy, you're safe. No one's going to hurt you."  
  
Indeed, the Lupe didn't seem interested in making trouble. Instead, she brought in another tray of food in her jaws, looked me over then sat down.  
  
"We have a lot of work to do on this one," rumbled the Lupe mildly, "He hasn't been taken care of very well."  
  
My new owner offered me more food, which I eagerly gulped down, still not loosing sight of the Lupe's sharp teeth.  
  
There was a wonderful assortment of fruits and vegetables on the tray; pears, apples, broccoli, grapes, bananas, tomatoes and carrots. The food tasted heavenly and soon I stopped worrying about anything but getting more food into my stomach. I could feel strength trickling back into my body even as I ate.  
  
My owner turned briefly to the Lupe and replied, "Well then Alkuna, we'll just have to work on that."  
  
So the Lupe was named after my- er. our owner! Not only that, but Alkuna was very smart. While my owner fed me, I watched as the Lupe casually began studying from an Algebra book.  
  
Then I was carried to a tub, where I was bathed and brushed out. I didn't realize how much I had needed it until I watched the grime turn the water brown. After two baths, she lifted me out and dried me off. My fur fairly glowed as she brushed and dried it.  
  
Time passed and I thought I had died and gone to heaven. My new owner, Al'Kuna, is the greatest! Not only have I been nursed back to health, but also Al'Kuna has made sure to feed me every day. She buys us books and reads to us, or lets us read them ourselves. She works hard to give us a good life, playing games to earn Neopoints and managing a store.  
  
After a brief conversation with my new Lupe friend, I learned the rules. Everyday we are to go to the Games second, choose a number of games and play them for Neopoints. By helping to earn money, we ensure ourselves that we will be well fed and cared for. This requirement is fine with me. I look forward to repaying my new owner for all she has done for me.  
  
My life has improved intensely since I began my life with her. I owe Al'Kuna my life and I'm working hard to pay her back. Perhaps I am a fool to be so loyal so soon. But all I have to do is look at her to know that I will accept no one else. We're not the richest in Neopia, but I couldn't be happier. 


End file.
